Integrating climate change into development

Much of the thinking to date on how to address climate change has focused on incrementally reducing emissions - such as the commitment to reduce emissions to 5 percent below 1990 levels under the Kyoto Protocol. These incremental improvements are important first steps, but successful climate change management calls for a new development paradigm that integrates climate change into strategies and plans, and that links policy setting with the financing of solutions.

To do this, UNDP collaborates with other UN agencies under the "Delivering as One" framework to help United Nations Country Teams integrate climate risk into the formulation and implementation of key UN cooperation frameworks such as the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). As the co-chair of the United Nations Development Group's Task Team on Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability, UNDP helping to develop a guidance note to assist UNCTs mainstream climate change into the UNDAFs. This guidance note will be available in early 2010.

UNDP has also stepped up its own policy and capacity development services on climate change and assists UNDP country and regional offices in climate proofing their development assistance to countries. This includes targeted efforts to integrate climate risks into UNDP programming and providing methodological tools and advisory services.

Related Publications and Resources

This performance report UNDP-GEF Unit provides a) a snapshot of progress made toward development and environment benefits by projects in each region in 2015; b) highlights progress made in addressing women, work and the environment and c)demonstrates the services UNDP provides to the vertical funds that it is accredited to, in particular the Global Environment Facility.

This paper outlines a climate finance framework to assist developing countries to move to low-emissions, climate-resilient growth paths. UNDP is proposing a country-driven, multi-stakeholder climate finance framework to assist developing countries to scale up efforts to address climate change in a way that strengthens and advances national development priorities.

The African Adaptation Programme is not an adaptation project in its own right, but rather a programme that helps countries develop their capacities to finance and manage adaptation projects more effectively within a long-term planning framework. This brochure describes the approach.